Anyone who knows Eric knows that he writes about a little bit of everything, whether it's taking a trip down memory lane, or praising and/or criticizing something or someone.

New pope, good old ideas

About this blog

By Eric Bergeson

Since 1997, Eric has owned and operated Bergeson Nursery, rural Fertile, MN, a business his grandfather started in 1937. With the active participation of his parents, who owned the business for the previous twenty five years, and his younger brother
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Since 1997, Eric has owned and operated Bergeson Nursery, rural Fertile, MN, a business his grandfather started in 1937. With the active participation of his parents, who owned the business for the previous twenty five years, and his younger brother Joe, who is now president of the company, the business has nearly tripled in size during Ericís ownership tenure.
The holder of a Master of Arts in History from the University of North Dakota, Eric has taught courses in history and political science at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. He is also an adjunct lecturer in history for Hamline University, St. Paul, MN.
Ericís hobbies include Minnesota Twins baseball, Bach organ music, bookstores, hiking, photography, singing old country music with his brother Joe, and watching the wildlife on the swamp in front of his house eight miles outside of Fertile, Minn.

While a cardinal, the new pope co-wrote a book with a rabbi. Here are just a few excerpts. Cardinal Bergoglio's thoughts are refreshing, especially his views on athiesm and fundamentalism. His co-author states what I have always believed: Agnosticism is the only tenable position, even if one tends towards belief or disbelief. People who dogmatically state that they know there is a god are usually pretty sure that said god agrees with them on everything from women's rights to taxes to gun control.

On another matter, fundamentalist biblical literalists love to throw around Old Testament pronouncements on homosexuality, but when it comes to passages like the below, suddenly they sing a different tune:

Leviticus 25: 44 Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.

Clearly, we have here an endorsement of human trafficking and slavery. Clear and simple. The Bible says it, and I believe it. Case closed!

While lobbing around Old Testament verses, biblical fundamentalists value only those verses which they can use as a weapon against those they hate. I suspect the new pope, of all people, would abhor this practice.

UPDATE: Later in the morning, I stumble across this, from the recently deceased pope of film.